


The train to Neverwinter

by Sentient_cHaos



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Blupjeans, Established Relationship, Eventual Relationships, Mild Gore, Modern Fantasy, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Survival Horror, Tags May Change, Trains, eventual taakitz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22108741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sentient_cHaos/pseuds/Sentient_cHaos
Summary: While riding the Rockport Unlimited, Lucretia and Angus McDonald discover a horrifying monster that could potentially send the world into chaos. And it has, by all means, already began its venture.
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Kudos: 4





	The train to Neverwinter

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so no promises, but I was really inspired, so I'm going to try and write a long-term (huge) fanfic based on the ideas I had. From now on, it'll mostly be fanfiction with a few exceptions, probably, but I'll try to stick to fanfiction. If you have any more tag ideas, please help a friend out! Feedback is always welcome!
> 
> -Haos

The ride to Neverwinter was a long and tiresome one to most. Condensed into one singular trip would amount it to 7 full hours of sitting in a train, however, the Rockport Limited did more than just one singular ride. It made many stops along its way, to many stations, picking up passengers from many areas of Faerun. The stops didn't last a few minutes either. Some lasted anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days. And there were other days where the train was connected to another line than the usual ones, the 7-hour line. Some lines could take the train a few days to reach its final destination without stops. One major setback of this was that the stops were mandatory. Regardless of whether there would be any passengers waiting on those stations scheduled, the train had to stop at the station for a few hours. The Rockport Limited was full of passengers on Midsummer or Candlenights, but the rest of the time, the train was almost empty. A real shame for the size of it. 

  
However, there were only two passengers on the train this time around, and one, if not both, were regulars on that train. The conductor, Davenport, knew them the best from all his passengers. They were a tall, dark-skinned woman with dyed white hair and a little boy who bore big, circular glasses. Lucretia and little Angus McDonald. 

  
What wasn't there to say about them?

  
Angus McDonald was a curious little boy, always exploring the train and trying to find what could be hidden within the crevices of every floorboard. Every time he entered the train, his gaze would light up as if it were the first time he entered a train. He would always be carrying with him his little suitcase, never letting Davenport or Lucretia touch it like it was filled with untold treasures. He would always make sure to greet Davenport without fail, and when he wasn't exploring the train, he would be found sitting next to Lucretia, reading a book or doing some sort of assignments beyond the capabilities of other kids his age.

  
On the other hand, Lucretia. She was, of course, way older than Angus. She was gentle, kind and soft-spoken, and nowhere near as excitable or energetic as Angus. She was always more of a wallflower. She found inexplicable joy in gazing for extended periods of time out of the train window or digging through the words of a book. She would help Angus with his assignments or any book he needed help with or just anything he needed help with in general. She was always like a mother to him. Which made sense. After all, she was his legal guardian.

  
They always took the Rockport Limited, due to Lucretia's job. She had to constantly transfer from one end of Faerun to the other, dragging Angus with her. There were times when Lucretia only had to transfer for a short period of time, in which she left Angus with a mysterious acquaintance of hers, but nothing other than that. This was yet one of those times.

  
Lucretia was sat down, her head buried in her book, as always. Next to her sat Angus McDonald, looking out the window as much as he could from his point of view. The sun was setting, and Angus was almost dazed by the colors. So many of them, all swirling between mountain tops, alongside clouds, waving the sun a somber goodbye for yet another day. He switched to moving his hand around, watching the sun reflect off his watch onto the wall. He wasn't in the mood to get up and grab the book he brought with him from his suitcase, so he was drilled to his seat, lazily watching the sun.

  
Until his eyes spotted something in the valley, just below the town they were passing through.  
"Madam Lucretia, do you see that?" he said, standing up from his seat to take a better look.

  
Lucretia glanced out the window, not noticing anything in particular. "Yes, Angus, the sunset? It's quite beautiful," she answered.

  
"No, ma'am, in the valley! What is that?" he asked.

  
Lucretia took a better look at the valley, shuffling around so Angus could go closer to the window. "Over there," he explained and pointed, his finger tapping the window. She looked as hard as she could.

  
_What in Istus' name was that?_

  
There was a black lake in the valley, only it was moving. And it was splitting into multitudes. Multiple heads emerging from the sides, some small, some big, some even bigger. The smaller heads had horrible, salivating mouths with gigantic teeth adorning the edges, teeth that looked exactly like any other human's. The bigger heads had beady white eyes accompanying the mouth. Soon, hands emerged from the mass, two for each head. It was splitting horribly and grotesquely, and Lucretia was extremely happy that she couldn't hear the noise that would make. Her eyes were fixated on the monster, so much so she lost track of her surroundings.

  
"Madam Lucretia?" Angus asked, looking up at her with a worried glance. She looked at him before clearing her throat and setting him down in her place. 

  
"Sit here, I'll be right back," she instructed, before getting up. She made her way through all the carts until she reached the conductor's cart. She knocked on the door frantically.

"Davenport?" she yelled for him.

  
"What's up?" his muffled yells were heard from inside.

  
"I'm coming in," she warned before twisting the handle and making her way inside. Davenport was overlooking the motherboard of the train, visibly relaxed.  
"Is there something wrong?" he lazed his head back to look at her. She gulped again and fumbled with her fingers, before bending over to see if the creature was visible from his window.

  
"Davenport, you might want to see this..." she urged, pointing at the creature. Davenport was careful not to press any buttons accidentally, getting up to see the creature Lucretia was pointing at. Lucretia was eagerly looking at the window reflection, trying to gauge Davenport's reaction. He squinted and readjusted his monocle before his eyes widened in shock. His gaze was stuck on the horrible creature, as he absent-mindedly mumbled "What in the gods' holy names is that...?"

  
She looked at him with an unknowing look, and she knew he was thinking the same question as her. _What do we do about it?_ He looked down, contemplating a few outcomes. "... Go sit back with Angus, I'll announce things over the intercom," he reassured her and ushered her out of the cart. She breathed a small sigh, before briskly walking back to the cart where Angus was sat. She passed through all the empty carts, not knowing whether to be worried or glad that they were alone on that train. Back at their seat, Angus was getting increasingly agitated, whether that be due to morbid curiosity, or lingering fear.

  
He turned to look at her, before getting up and running towards her, clutching the side of her dress with one of his hands. "Ma'am, it split..." he explained, putting his other hand near his mouth in a clenched fist.

  
"It did what, now?" she bent over, resting her hand atop his little hat.

  
"It split in two while you weren't looking and went up the hill..." he explained. He was definitely afraid. No doubting that much. Lucretia hoped Angus didn't realize the fear she had within her herself. She didn't want to make the little kid fear more than he had to.

  
"... and what should we do about that?" she asked.

  
"... I don't know... it's not close enough for you to fire any spells, is it?" he asked in a way that felt he was making a realization rather than an actual question.

  
"That wouldn't be a bad idea though, Angus... to have some spells prepared..." she reassured him.

  
"... What is that, though?" he asked her again.

  
"... I'm sorry Angus, but I have no idea... as long as we're inside the train though, we're safe." she lied, and put on her best smile to reassure him. But she could tell it was to no avail. Angus was much too smart to be fooled. But that was the only card she could play right now. "Let's ignore it for now, okay?" she urged. Angus looked down in contemplation, before agreeing and following her back to her seat.

  
She did her best to occupy him by reading to him and talking to him about other things, anything to take both their minds off that horrible monstrosity they were just looking at. Anything at all. But Angus kept glancing back at the window, no matter how hard Lucretia tried. "Do you see anything?" she asked him.

  
"No, the train passed it..." he mumbled. "... Madam, I was thinking..." he began. "... Are we gonna make those hourly stops as we did before...? Because the thing might catch up to us if we do..." he explained. And he was right. Lucretia had no idea, however, if they were gonna do that or not. She or Davenport never brought it up. The time, however, would come whenever they were close to such a station. She hoped Davenport had the right idea in mind, too.

  
"... Probably not," she explained. "So, what was that you said about your grandpa?" she tried continuing the conversation. But continuing the conversation was hard. She tried for a few minutes, before ultimately giving up.

"... Madam Lucretia...?" Angus asked.

  
"What is it Angus?" she replied.

  
"... Can I lie down on you again and try to take a nap?" he asked her. She smiled gently at him.

  
"Of course," she said and made room for him. He took off his circular glasses, setting them down on the small desk they had all their books and papers, before getting comfortable and lying down, hugging Lucretia's waist and closing his eyes. She took off his hat and set it on the table, moving her hand to gently pet his sides, trying to lull him to sleep without words. She propped her elbow on the window, resting her chin in her palm, losing her gaze along the thin treeline at the edge of the rails. She couldn't see the monster any longer. But how much until it returned? What would it even do to them? It didn't seem friendly, even from their distance, she could sense the malice in its being. She thought and thought, longer and longer, trying to analyze its intent. In the beginning, she thought it was just spiteful and evil. And it definitely was. But she couldn't help but feel like there was something else it desired. But she had no idea what.

  
Their next destination, a small town with but a few houses only, was coming up shortly, and nightfall had already taken its place on the horizon. Only the small, orange lights of the city illuminated any sort of view. Angus was fast asleep on her lap, breathing softly and calmly. She had tried on and off to read her book and take her mind off things, but that proved to be useless. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't get focused on the page she was reading. She looked down at Angus and gently shook him, petting him afterward, trying to wake him. He whined in his sleep, and then she spoke.

  
"Angus, I'm going to go fetch my staff..." she mumbled, gently picking his head up and resting it on the seat, before moving up and into her cart to retrieve her staff from her closet. She went back to the cart with Angus in it, trying to think of spells she could use to fend the beast off. Nothing would come to mind; she had no idea what the beast was weak to yet. She hoped she didn't have to use it in the first place, anyway. She found Angus awake and tiredly rubbing his eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry... Did I wake you completely?" she asked.

  
"I'm gonna go get my wand too..." he mumbled before he himself made his way over to the cart to retrieve his own wand. She sat, her staff resting lazily on her fingers, her glance shifting between the staff and the window. She was deep in wonder and curiosity until Davenport's voice broke over the intercom. 

  
"We will shortly be reaching Harrow's Meadow and will be conducting our hourly stop as scheduled. More announcements to be made soon." 

  
Lucretia grew anxious at the announcement. _Were they really going to stop with that thing still lingering outside? Was he crazy?_

  
But there was no way to tell if the creature had followed the train, or arrived at the town. There was no way to even pinpoint its path at this point. Angus returned with a worried expression, clutching his wand close to his chest. His eyes were enough for Lucretia to understand what was on his mind. _Is it really safe to stop now?_ She just smiled and motioned next to her, beckoning him to sit down beside her. He did just that, moving his feet around in the empty space before they both felt the familiar pressure of the train slowing down. They were in Harrow's Meadow. Lucretia couldn't help but look outside.

  
The town was dead. Not that it was any more lively usually, but it felt more dead than usual. Only a few houses' lights were on, and there was dead silence. No one was walking around either. The train eventually came to a halt, and the doors opened. Lucretia held her staff in her hands expectantly. She looked at the door, expecting someone to step through. Anyone, to step through.

  
What she didn't expect was the creature's mass to go oozing down the few houses that were left, keenly looking inside the train for new prey. Lucretia felt her heart drop. The creature took position in front of the train, setting its hands down and holding the floor, before looming ever closer to the entrance. She instinctively held her hand behind her, covering Angus from the beast.

  
And as they both stood, waiting for a reaction, the familiar ding of the doors starting to close echoed through the cart. The creature lunged forward, bellowing out horrible screeches, clawing at the door. Lucretia shot a beam of light with her staff, just barely hitting it, causing it to fall backward, as the train's doors closed and it began to pick up speed. She could only stare as the creature split into many other beings, all clawing at the windows in desperation to get inside.

  
It was hungry.

  
Her realization was cut off by the sound of Angus letting out a terrified, choked wail. Lucretia turned around with lightning speed, not caring to set her staff down. Angus was shaking, and his eyes had collected tears, as he looked up at Lucretia hopelessly. He moved his shaky hands to grab at Lucretia's dress ever so lightly. She reflexively cupped his cheeks. "It's alright, Angus...!" she reassured. "It can't hurt us as long as we're on the train, remember...?" she reminded him.

  
Angus sniffed his nose quietly, before wiping the tears from his eyes. "Y-Yeah... you're right madam..." he trailed off. "... What will it do to the citizens...?" he asked. And she smiled at him.

  
"You're so thoughtful, Angus... and so kind-hearted... I don't know... but... it's too late to help them now," she explained, looking up at the windows. The beast had long let go of its desperate grasp on the train, completely out of her sight.

  
"... Isn't the nearest station just a few minutes from here...?" he asked.

  
She gave it a little thought. There were two possible routes the train could be taking from Harrow's Meadow, but judging from the direction, their next stop was in just a few minutes indeed. 

  
Raven's Roost.

  
Raven's Roost was considerably bigger than Harrow's Meadow, and of course, much more commercial. There would surely be many more people there, whether working people or just plain citizens. If they made another stop in Raven's Roost, then there would surely be people to pick up and save from the monstrosity they were just running away from. But would the train fit them all? And who would they have to choose? How would they be able to choose?

  
But that was to be decided in the few minutes that followed.

  
"... Ma'am...?" Angus piped up.

  
"Yes, Angus...?"

  
"... That monster... ... it seemed like it wasn't affected by your magic at all... do you think it's immune to magic...?" he asked.  
And it was true. From what she saw, the monster was just blasted back by the impact, but no real damage was done. It was more like the monster had been flicked, rather than having been attacked by a powerful spell. The splitting was a conscious choice, she reckoned. There was absolutely no way that the beast only had that reaction if her spell was the reason behind the splitting. But thankfully, Davenport realized the situation just in time. The scenery of the slight mountain hills adorned with tall trees abruptly changed to that of mountaintops and deep canyons. And then a voice broke over the intercom.

  
"We're gonna reach Raven's Roost soon... Our stop there's gonna be short, I have no idea if that thing has already made its way there, but we're gonna slow down again, just to be safe."

  
"... What will happen if we meet that thing again?" Angus asked Lucretia after the announcement was over.

  
"We'll do the same thing as last time," she explained. "We'll just hit it with a spell and run away... Preferably with survivors," she added.

  
"... I don't think we can take more than three... then our supplies will run out faster, and we'll have to make another stop..." he reminded.

  
"You're right, but that's a problem to worry about later... Let's just hope we find someone for now," she said.

  
"... I think I see Raven's Roost!" he exclaimed and pointed at the opposite side window once more. Lucretia could spot the faint reddish light emitted by the streetlights and houses of Raven's Roost. They were getting closer and closer, and the lights almost seemed to be going out one by one. The closer they got, the clearer they could see.  
The monster was thrashing about, not just consuming houses this time, but tearing them apart like it was hungrily digging into flesh. It was ever more vicious. And it was faster than the train. That was the only way it got to Raven's Roost quicker before them. And again, Davenport's voice broke over the intercom. "Alright, this one's gotta be a real quick stop," he explained. Right after the voice dropped, there was an echoing screech coming from the rails, and Angus and Lucretia were both slightly thrown back into their seats by the force at which Davenport was stopping the train.

  
Lucretia watched as the scene before them changed from serene forests on mountain hills, to a monstrosity destroying houses, while terrified people ran in all directions. And the screeching of the rails didn't stop, she realized. But it wasn't the screeching of the rails any longer.

  
The terrified screams of the people filled the air, accompanied by the sounds of debris hitting the floor and wood being destroyed. They were all running in different directions, some in mobs, some carrying their children behind them, yet absolutely none of them had noticed the train. Only a few did, but they were already running another direction when their gaze caught the massive train that had just arrived. A massive sound erupted from the front of the train, drawing the attention of a small crowd of people. Davenport had sounded the train's horn. Families with children started running towards the train, friends, and couples, or just people on their own, but ultimately, they were all caught by the creature. They were too slow.

  
Except for one couple.

  
A man and a woman were both running as fast as they could towards the train. The man was dragging the woman by the forearm and yelling something while looking at the train, and they both had the same look of distress on their faces. As they got closer, so did the monster. Until the man came barreling inside, dragging the woman alongside him. And the monster lunged, grabbing the woman by the calf, and tugging her back with immense strength. The man got pulled forward, with a tight grip on the woman. Lucretia sprang forward and grabbed the woman by the sleeve, reeling her in with all of her might. She watched in absolute panic as her hands slowly slipped away from the man's, before Angus got up and joined the attempt himself, grabbing her by the fingers and pulling as hard as he could. Just then, the familiar ding of the door closing chimed, and the creature howled horribly, giving the woman one last tug, before she was pulled away from the man's hold, letting out a guttural scream as she was dragged back. A scream which was more and more muffled as the doors closed.

  
However, the man was still inside the train.

  
"No! Open the door! My wife!! _MY WIFE!! **JULIA!!!**_ " he yelled desperately as he tried breaking the doors open, but the train had already picked up speed. He banged on the glass hopelessly, almost running after her inside the train. 'Julia', he kept screaming, over and over. And in just a matter of seconds, they had completely passed Raven's Roost. It was not visible anymore. The man sat his back on the wall of the train, letting himself slide down, before hitting the floor. He held his head between his hands, pale and broken. On and off, tears would collect in his eyes to hydrate them from being opened so wide. He was staring down at the floor, blank, unresponsive, catatonic. Lucretia approached him cautiously but didn't dare touch him. She couldn't just do that to him after what all three of them witnessed. She looked at Angus with a worried look, but Angus seemed less terrified than before. He wasn't shaking anymore, but the expression on his face was still that of hopelessness. He looked down at his small fingers.

  
Suddenly the man stood up. "We need to stop the train. I need to go back. I need to get my wife." he said, towering over Lucretia. He was well built and had auburn hair that trailed off into sideburns on the sides of his jaw. "Please," he begged, his voice cracking a little.

  
Lucretia looked down. "I'm so sorry... we can't go back... it is much too late..." she explained.

  
"Please! There must be something we can do!" he pleaded, disarray and desperation coloring his eyes. But she was unable to go back in time and help him get her back. She was completely unable to help him. There just was no way.

  
"... Sir... We can't do anything... I'm so sorry..." she explained.  
He looked down, closing his eyes tightly and rubbing his face, resting on top of a chair. And just as suddenly, his fingers clenched.

  
"... I'm going to fucking kill him if that thing hasn't already."

  
"... I'm sorry?"

  
"I'm going to kill that lunatic. I bet my life he was the one behind this all."

  
"Who are you talking about, sir...?"

  
"That prick, Kalen." the man growled. "He was going to lose mayorship of Raven's Roost in a few days and was unnaturally frantic about it. He's constantly trying to get into power. I'm sure he was the one behind this all."

  
"... I think it is too soon for assumptions as of yet," Lucretia explained. The man grunted in response, visibly frustrated. "... Our next stop is Phandalin," Lucretia added. "There's no guarantee that the beast already hasn't reached there by the time we arrive, but let's hope we can sneak in another citizen..." she prayed.

  
She cleaned her throat and extended her hand. "I am Lucretia," she introduced herself.

  
The man smiled and took up her offer of a handshake. "Magnus Burnsides," the plainly said. "... And what's your name, little fella?" he shot a glance at Angus.

  
"I'm Angus McDonald!" he said in return. Before he finished looking at Angus, the smile on his face dropped. "... Thank you for trying to help me back there... Me and... me and my Julia..." he trailed off.

  
"... I'm so sorry for your loss..." she expressed.

  
"... What more could we do...? he looked at her, drenched in sadness. He looked back outside. "... We're gonna save more people in Phandalin," he announced. "... I can't let them live the same thing I did..." he muttered. Lucretia nodded. And they had to figure out a way to get rid of the creature.

  
But the movement it portrayed was different than that of Harrow's Meadow. It was hastier, angrier, more violent. It swallowed people and houses mercilessly, and with such ease that it was bone-chilling. But they escaped it just in time.

  
And it was hungrier than ever.


End file.
